Motor vehicle jack



Jan. 28, 1947. MCDONALD MOTOR VEHICLE JACK Filed Nov. 5, 1945 I N VENTOR.

M m/mm. K

DAV/ BY Patented Jan. 28, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOTOR VEHICLEJACK,

David McDonald, Birmingham, Ala. Application November 5, 1945, SerialNo. 626,756

4 Claims.v (Cl. 254-94) This invention relates to a; lifting device formotor vehicles of the kind embodying a ramp up which a wheel of thevehicle is run, together with a support to which the load of the vehicleis transferred as the wheel approaches the top of the ramp, and has foran object the provision of a device of the character designated whichshall be sturdy, yet light of construction, easily placed in position toraise the vehicle, and one which, when the vehicle is lowered from thesupport moves the support out of the way.

In my previously filed application, Serial No. 589,848, filed April 23,1945, I have shown, described and claimed a vehicle jack of the generalcharacter herein disclosed, including a wheel support hingedly connectedto a ramp and adapted to move from an inclined. to a vertical vehiclesupporting position when engaged by a Vehicle in' motion. While thedevice therein disclosed has proven eminently satisfactory in operation,I have found that the ramp may better be comprised of parts permanentlyjoined toether and as so constructed, include means for moving it out ofthe way of' the support, once the vehicle is raised; My presentinvention also includes a hinge pin embodying means permitting the wheelsupport to be inclined at the proper angle for. receiving a convenientpart, of the vehicle to raise it. My present invention further includesimproved means for turning the vehicle support over on its side as soonas the weight is removed therefrom. These and other features of myinvention are illustrated in the accompanying drawing, forming a part ofthis application, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the jackin position to receive a motor vehicle;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view with parts broken away showing theposition of the ramp and the axle after the vehicle has been raised;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation showing the device during the raising ofthe vehicle and at the instant when the saddle of the support engagesthe axle; and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing the means provided for tiltingthe wheel support at the proper angle for engaging the axle.

Referring now to the drawing for a better understanding of my invention,I show a ramp 5 comprised of a base Iii, a longitudinal member II weldedto the baseya vertical support I2 and 1 an inclined member I3 joined tothe longitudinal member II and vertical member !2. The inclined memberI3 is provided on one side with a steeply inclined portion l5 extendingfrom the longitudinal member H- to the top of the vertical member 12,thence dropping oif suddenly on the other side along an abrupt incline[4, followed by a portion IE, joined to the other end of thelongitudinal member H, and inclined at a lesser angle than the portionl5; This provided a hump, as shown, at the top of the inclined portion[5. A cylindrical sleeve H is welded to the base In and is adapted toreceive a hinge pin IS, the latter being free to turn therein.

The axle support I9 comprises. a basemember on which are mountedtelescoping, relatively movable cylindrical sections 2| and 22. Thesection 22 is provided. with a plurality of holes 23 and the section 21is rovided with a hole 24 to receive an adjusting pin 26 which passesthrough the hole 24 into a selected hole 23 to adjust the height of thesupport. On the upper end of the cylindrical member 22 is a saddle 21which is" adapted to receive a suitable part of a vehicle, such as theaxle. 28 of a wheel 35, when 1 :the same is being raised as shown inFig. 3 of the drawing. Welded to the base 20., on opposite sides of thesection 2| are straps 28 and-29 which form, with the base 20', elongatedslots for receiving the hinge pin I8. As may be seen in Figs. 3 and 4,the hinge pin I8 is rectangular in cross section and of adimension tofit snugly between the straps and the base. On the outer end of-thehing'e pin [8* is pivotally mounted a short,

soft iron strap 3| whichmay'be bent to set the the hinge pin l8 at anangle which will hold the support at the proper height for the saddle 21to engage the axle 28 or such other part of the vehicle as may beconvenient to raise it. The strap 3| is made of soft iron so that it maybe adapted to the particular vehicle with which the jack is associatedand once set at the proper angle for that vehicle will require nofurther adjustment. When the device is not in use, the strap 3| may bepivoted about the rivet 30 to lie in the same plane as the handle 18a ofpin 18, thus preventing accidental bending of the strap.

Mounted on the side of the section 2| is a sleeve 32 in which isinserted a trip pin 33 which is surrounded by a spring 34 and whichextends downwardly through a suitable opening in the base 20. The spring34 engages the head 35 of the trip pin and the lower end of the sleeve,whereby the trip pin is biased downwardly at all times.

In operation, theparts of my improved vehicle jack are assembled in theposition shown in Fig. 1 of the drawing except that the axle support I9is placed with the lower edge 21a of the saddle and edge 29a of theplate 20 resting on the ground. The handle lBa of the pin I8 is nowturned upwardly raising the support [9 and the strap 3! is pivoted fromaround the end of the handle I8a as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2', tothe position shown in full lines throughout the drawing. In thatposition, the strap 3! is bent to hold the saddle 21, as shown in Fig.3, to receive the axle, or some other part of the vehicle, as thevehicle wheel 35 i run up the inclined section 15 of the ramp. Thevehicle in motion engages the saddle of the support and as the wheelapproaches the top of the ramp the weight is transferred from the rampto the support, the support moving ahead of the peak of the ramp whenthe vehicle is in its raised position. In order to prevent the ramp andsupport from slipping when engaged' by the vehicle, the edges of thebases I and 20 are turned down at 40 and 4| to grip the ground, as shownin the drawing. As the Vehicle passes the peak of the ramp and theweight is transferred to the support, if a driven wheel is being raised,the wheel is still turning, and, being in engagement with the relativelysteep portion I4, will kick the ramp out of the way. The elongated slotformed by the straps 28 and 29 permits the hinge pin I 8 to swing aboutwith the ramp. Once the vehicle is raised, the pin [8 and the ramp areremoved. When the necessary repairs have been made, the ramp is placedunder the wheel, with inclined portion It in engagement therewith, andthe wheel is run up the ramp to transfer the weight of the vehicle fromthe support to the ramp and then to the ground. It will be noted that itis not necessary to run the wheel over the highest or humped portion ofthe ramp but that the weight i removed from the support l9 after only ashort run up the inclined portion N5 of the ramp. As soon as the weighthas been taken away from the support, the trip pin 33 acts to turn thesupport over on its side out of the way of other parts of the vehicle.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improvedvehicle jack which is simple of design and operation and by means ofwhich a vehicle may be raised and lowered easily, without the exerciseof manual labor.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modifications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire, therefore,

that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specificallyset forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A lifting device for a vehicle having a wheel, comprising a ramp upwhich the wheel may be driven, a support hingedly connected at its lowerend to the ramp and adapted to move from an inclined to a verticalsupporting position when engaged by the vehicle in motion, a hinge pinangular in cross section for hinging the ramp to the support, a base onthe support having an elongated slot in which the hinge pin fits, andadjustable means for setting the hinge pin at the required angle to holdthe support in position to engage a convenient part of the vehicle toraise it.

2. A lifting device for a vehicle having a wheel, comprising a ramp upwhich the wheel may be driven, an adjustable support adapted to movefrom an inclined to a vertical vehicle supporting position when engagedby a part of the vehicle in motion, a base for the support having anelongated slot therein, a hinge pin angular in cross section fitting inthe slot and hingedly connecting the support at its lower end to theramp, the hinge pin being free to turn with respect to the ramp, andmeans for adjusting the hinge pin at the required angle to hold thesupport in position to engage a part of the vehicle to be raised.

3. A lifting device as set forth in claim 2 in which the ramp comprisesa base, a member for engaging the wheels of the vehicle secured to andhaving a portion inclined to the base and extending upwardly to a peak,thence downwardly at an abrupt angle to provide a hump in the ramp,thence downwardly to the base at a decreased angle of inclination.

4. In a vehicle lifting device of the character described, an adjustablesupport comprised of telescoping members, a base on the support, a strapsecured to the base and defining therewith an elongated slot, a ramp forengaging and raising the wheel of a vehicle in motion, a sleeve on theramp, a rod angular in cross section extending through the sleeve andengaging the sides of v

